Apple nearly doubles net profit, iPad sales dip

21 april 2011, 19:03

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Photo courtesy of finance.ninemsn.com.au

Apple nearly doubled its quarterly net profit on record iPhone sales but iPad sales dipped and the company is dealing with the "mother of all backlogs" in meeting demand for the tablet computer, AFP reports.

Apple said Wednesday that net profit rose 95 percent in the second quarter of its fiscal year to $5.99 billion while revenue rose 83 percent to $24.67 billion, beating the expectations of Wall Street analysts.

Earnings per share were $6.40, up from $3.30 a year ago.

The Cupertino, California-based gadget-maker said it sold 18.65 million iPhones during the quarter, up 113 percent over a year ago and helped by the addition of a second US carrier, Verizon.

Apple sold 4.69 million iPads during the quarter which ended on March 26, down from 7.33 million sold during the first quarter of its fiscal year and less than expected by analysts.

Apple sold 3.76 million Macintosh computers, up 28 percent from a year ago, and 9.02 million iPods, a 17 percent unit decline from a year ago.

In a statement, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said the company was "firing on all cylinders" and "will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year."

Jobs, 56, went on medical leave in January, his third since 2004, but has retained his title of chief executive at Apple.

Jobs underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and received a liver transplant in 2009, but Apple has not released any details about his latest health issues.

Cook said the earthquake and tsunami in Japan did not have a major impact on Apple in the quarter but the situation remains uncertain and it could have an impact of around $200 million on Apple's revenues in the current quarter.

Apple sources hundreds of the components for its devices from Japan.

While iPad sales were disappointing compared to the forecasts of analysts, Cook said demand for the latest model, the iPad 2, has been "staggering."